Tuesday, February 10, 2009

cleaned-up, handspun-hat wearing former administrator seeks part time waitress job

I really cleaned up when I went out yesterday, making some inquiries about part-time lunch waitress jobs. Inexplicable, the way such a job seems like the perfect palate cleanser for that nasty admin-gone-awry aftertaste. In any case, putting on makeup was a nice change, and I decided to wear the hat that I'll be writing up as my next free, simple pattern, the Shackleton Hat. Inspired by this photograph, but less floppy. So difficult to photograph. Here's sort of a "top view":

Anyway, I made it out of handspun yarn, my own 2-ply chunky weight. I have a lot of this chunky that I've been spinning up that would be perfect for Shackleton (or regularly shaped) hats... and I'll be giving a skein of handspun merino or BLF in a color of choice, not limited to the colors shown below, to someone else unemployed or underemployed who comments on this post with a suggestion of a free thing to do to entertain myself.

I'm considering listing some other colors as kits for sale. Any interest? Post a comment or email me (weaverbergh13@verizon.net) and let me know (you can let me know your favorite colors if you're interested... I, um, have a lot of roving to spin).

oooh LOVE your handspun! i'm self-employed, and since part of what i do is sell stuff i make, and no one is really buying anything right now, i'm always stressed about money and try to spend nothing on entertainment...

what i do for fun mostly involves knitting or other crafting while watching something - and hulu.com is fabulous for free stuff to watch.

i also love taking photos for fun... just going out for a walk with my digital camera (no film processing = free!) and shooting things that you wouldn't normally look at or care about, trying to make them into interesting photographs. like nature, or store windows... fun stuff!

Library Library Library! Lots of times they have great movies you can check out, not to mention cookbooks, knitting books, and sometimes they have cultural passes you can check out - like museum tickets, etc.

Or just going to a coffee shop, knitting and people watching is another of my favorite poor-people activities.

OR, if you get a group of really good friends together and bring all kinds of stuff you don't want anymore, put it all in a pile and "go shopping" for new stuff. It's fun :)

good luck with jobjob searching. Or, if it's part-time, is it just job?

I love how you typo'd BFL to BLF... blue-laced fester... now that is a funny mental picture. It's like those "Little Cans of Paint" we sell at Lorna's Laces... sometimes we switch them up and say "Little Pains of Can't," which is so succinct and fitting sometimes! So that is my suggestion on free things to do... look for expressions or phrases where you can change words around to make fun new meanings. Definitely free and should keep you busy for ... a while.

As someone who is about to be unemployed in three months with $25,000 of college loans looming over my head, I feel your pain.

As much as my own well being tends to dictate my level of happiness, I think there's something to small acts of kindness. Back when I was eighteen, a friend and I were feeling overwhelmed with silly stuff that built up over time. So we left school and decided to take a mental health day with the aim of lightening our loads, so to speak. It was a lovely April day, so the obvious thing to do was to hang out in the park for a bit. We walked around, and when we came to a patch of wild daisies, I posed the idea of picking a bunch and heading to a small city 30 minutes away. We left the park with about 20 flowers, we got to Peekskill, and we just walked around, handing them out to people on the streets, store owners, anyone really. People had the best reactions because it was totally unexpected: they smiled, thanks us genuinely, and we could tell as they walked away that it just brightened things up.

So, if you're still unemployed in two months (or feel like splurging $5 at the super market), this might give you a much needed dose of idealism. Also, for some good reading, try "Words in Air," the collected letters between Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell. I'm a quarter of the way through and can't put it down.

Best of luck with the unemployment. And thanks for writing- love your blog.

Hi Ann, the chance of winning one of your lovely skeins is too tempting to pass up. So here is my suggestion.Hop on a bus and go to a neighbourhood you don't usually visit. I like the older parts of the city, and Chinatown. Then walk around and explore. Older buildings, stores, big trees, teahouses, parks, different language, different clothing, there is always something different and inspiring. A camera or sketchpad is handy too. I find it inspiring to explore for a few hours.

Well, knitting obviously. :) Also a lot of museums can take a recommended donation--aka pay as you wish. And I think the Harvard art museums are free. My favorite is the Museum of Natural History here in New York--pay as you wish!

I was laid off a couple of weeks ago as well, and personally, I'm looking forward to working more on my own projects!

Here is what I have been doing while unemployed: going to the library, knitting in the park, going to museums on their free days, searching out new dinner recipes, biking/walking around my new neighborhood, trading old books for new-to-me books at the used book stores, working out, catching up with old friends through Facebook, catching up on sleep! :)

I'm working part-time at the moment, at a bookstore, and it such fun compared to my previous desk job in pensions finance, so I totally get where you're coming from. Your handspun is gorgeous, especially the black shade. Anyway my suggestions are; fan fiction on the internet ~ virtually every book and tv series/film will have hundreds of fans writing fan fiction, and some of it is pretty good. Its not a very healthy way to spend your time though, I guess. The other thing i do is volunteer with local Brownies, its just a few hours a week and loads of fun, it also gets you out the house and talking to people which can be an issue when you're out of work. Good luck with the waitressing!

After you do all the things in the above comments, come home and draw a little comic about it. Or write fictional captions for the photos you took to make your day seem full of intrigue and adventure. If you have a Mac, you can use the comic strip software it came with to do this.

Doing something creative every day helps you forget your penury, plus it'll amuse you to look back on it once you have a job and don't have time for nonsense anymore.

I've never seen that particular photo of Shackleton before. He really was looking hunky and rocking that hat. Your homespun is beautiful and great for that kooky kool hat. It seems like you've gotten some great suggestions of things to do with your unemployment time. It might be a good time to exercise, something that's hard to do when you've got a jobjob.

During my years of unemployment (I was mostly home being a mommie) I would spend time in the library reading aloud to the kiddies. It got a me a cool gig reading the newspaper to people who couldn't read at the local assisted living center.

And I would buy a hat kit with your homespun. Especially if the yarn was that totally brilliant bright yellow/orange in the photo!